"Another message from the Meredith?" Solare Samo asked.
The messenger wiped his sweat before replying, "Yes, General. They're not convinced by our reply a month ago."
Solare sighed. He couldn't blame the Meredith Empire. Especially now that the situation has escalated to such a degree. It was weird, however, that the Meredith still didn't know about the condition of the Florentine. Were their spies wiped out, just like theirs?
"Send another reply to reassure them," Solare replied. It should probably be beyond believable at that point, but they should at least reply to avoid invoking some aggression.
The messenger bowed in acknowledgment then left.
A soft breeze blew.
"We've been completely blind for ten weeks now, do we still have plans on retaking Sera City?" a voice asked from the shadows of the room.
"Leroux, you saw what that person can do. He's stronger than all of us combined. Retake?" Solare scoffed, "this is nothing but a fantasy."
Montis did not respond.
"How is the Principal?" Solare asked in a low voice.
"Still in a coma," Montis replied curtly.
Hearing this Solare shook his head. He stared out of the window and appeared to be dazed.
….
Three months ago, when they paid their respects to those who died during the magical beasts' onslaught, they were suddenly attacked by creatures they could not identify. The monsters attacked the city using magic, an inconceivable sight. Thankfully, they were only able to use E-ranked ones, and are not as powerful as demonic beasts.
The siege was long and winding, but it wasn't something they could not defend from. Especially because Devon Morgan joined the fray. Slowly, they were able to wipe out those creatures.
Everyone heaved a sigh of relief and thought that it was over.
But then, that man came.
He walked amongst the rubble, straight towards the mages of Sera City, his intentions were unclear.
The man had white hair that flowed down freely all the way to his abdomen. It was smooth and straight. His skin was pale, and his eyes were blue. He was wearing a set of clothes like that of a wandering monk, completely out of fashion, though it looked quite majestic on him.
Everyone was silent, not knowing what to do. The person was definitely human, but how come he carried an unearthly presence?
Everyone wanted to ask who he was but could not find the voice to do so.
Suddenly, the man raised a hand.
At the same time, Toran Fiore ordered to attack.
The clouds fell from the sky, drawn towards the stranger's hand. Then, the gathered clouds started whirling into a tornado. It had been raining, earlier, so the clouds were naturally dark and thick. The huge tornado brewing was the same.
At that point, every single mage could already tell that the stranger's intentions were not to make peace. They immediately launched their attacks.
Spell after spell rained down where the man stood. Some were swallowed by the whirlwind created by the clouds, but they did not lose their ferocity.
Colorful lights exploded, meaning to destroy the stranger.
However…
Nothing happened. The whirlwind did not stop.
When the lights and dust finally settled, they saw the man standing there, unharmed, a blue translucent dome encapsulating his body. He gently dropped his hand.
The whirlwind of clouds became unstable. It swelled and swelled until it finally burst.
The fierce wind swept through the entire city.
It was strong!
Overbearing!
One might even say that it even carried the weight of the sky.
The mages of Sera City could not resist its overwhelming push.
Those who weren't able to put up their defensive spells in time were all swept away. For a few moments, all they could see were clouds, clouds, and more clouds.
The mages there couldn't believe what they were experiencing. Such a strong spell… it was definitely S-ranked.
But the speed at which it was cast was way too fast! For them, it was inconceivable.
….
The phenomenon lasted for a full minute.
Several mages ended up disoriented and with minor injuries.
When everything finally settled, the weaker mages began to panic.
In a sense, those veterans were not so different either. Though their anxiety stemmed from the current set up.
Their defensive formation was now broken.
Formations were always important in military strategies. But its necessity was amplified in magic warfare. Because, for many spells, the area they covered scales with their power. A mage would not want to be within another mage's area of attack.
Supposedly, the Serans should be in the front to allow Remorans to cast their spells uninterrupted. But now...
If that stranger closed in on their remorans, they would be doomed.
….
The ball of flames that wrapped around Solare Samo slowly dissipated. It revealed his figure, his sword firmly embedded on the ground. The first thing he did was to assess the situation. He knew that their formation would already be a huge mess by now, so he had to find a way to somehow reform it.
His eyes swept through the field, trying to locate their enemy.
There!
The stranger with white hair was lifting a person by his neck. It was one of his men!
At first, Solare was filled with resolve. He wanted to save his companion. But then his resolve was immediately replaced by shock and anger.
The head of his soldier was slightly tilted towards him, so he was able to see the man's blank expression. It was plain to see that the soldier was already dead. But for some reason, the stranger still held onto him with his glowing hand.
Fuck!
Whatever that man was doing, he had to stop it! Solare Samo charged forward, carrying his sword. He would at least not waste his soldier's death. Right now, the stranger was still being distracted, and he was not letting that opportunity slip by.
Enchantment: Dragon Wings!
Two streaks of flames burst from his back, giving him a huge boost in speed. Solare immediately closed the distance between him and the stranger. He lifted his sword.
Strangely, though, the man did not react. Was he too fast for the stranger to respond?
Solare didn't care. He enchanted his weapon. It shone even brighter when Explosion was added.
The pitch-black blade fell.
The stranger must've felt the power hidden behind his swing because just when the weapon was about to crash onto his head, he turned to face Solare. The man's free hand trembled.
Solare was a veteran soldier. He had fought hundreds, if not thousands, of battles in his lifetime. Moreover, he did not lack combat intuition. When he saw the stranger's hand tremble, he knew something was coming. Unfortunately, he was not at a point where he can still retract his attack. His sword was already upon the enemy! Solare could only grind his teeth and slash harder.
The crimson flames of his sword burned brighter, meaning to burn anything into ashes. However... the sound that came after was not something Solare Samo was expecting.
Dong!
The sound of a gigantic bell being struck…
Completely out of place.
In a split second, the flames that were about to engulf the stranger vanished, revealing Samo's deflected blade and his stumbling figure. In front of him was a phantasmal golden curtain that looked quite angelic. The stranger stood completely unharmed behind.
Just like that, an A-ranked mage's attack was nullified. Moreover, the defensive spell that the strange man used completely extinguished his flames.
Solare found himself stumbling backward from the backlash. His hands were up in the air due to his sword bouncing back, leaving him quite vulnerable. His eyes shot wide open.
Not good!
Solare needed to adjust himself or else he would be suffering from a counter-attack.
Move!
After three quick steps, he was actually able to do stabilize himself! His reaction speed was so shocking that even he himself was surprised. With that, he should've been able to patch the opening that he momentarily revealed. He immediately shifted into an offensive position. But the moment that he did, six rings of light suddenly appeared all around him. Then, he heard someone speak.
It was the stranger...
"You're quite dangerous. I'll deal with you later."
The rings of light compressed towards Solare Samo, binding him until he couldn't move. The wings of fire on his back grew smaller and smaller until they completely disappeared. On top of that, Solare couldn't feel the source of magic in his body.
He tried to summon his flames, but was unable to do so!
He was robbed of his magic!
Just like that, one of the strongest mages in the entire Empire was rendered useless.
Two moves… it only took two moves.
For the first time in years, Solare Samo felt terror.
To think that he, Solare Samo, was subdued in a matter of seconds. He wasn't even able to touch the enemy's sleeves! He imagined the stranger lifting up a sword and stabbing it straight towards his heart, but when he looked up, the man was gone. The stranger did not attack him.
His eyes followed the stranger as he went about killing his men who were still disoriented from the whirlwind with his weird magic. The stranger moved slowly, but the distance covered by his steps could not be explained.
In a short span of two seconds, more than a dozen had already been killed. Probably, even those who died didn't know that they were already dead.
From a distance, Solare saw a huge wall of black earth retract towards the ground. Based on its color, he could tell that it was Toran Fiore's spell. He must've used it to protect a large number of mages from the whirlwind.
Solare saw a ray of hope.
The battle was far from over! The Academy staff were still there!
Toran Fiore… he should be able to stabilize the situation together with the other Academy staff. There was Devon Morgan too! Even though he couldn't walk, he was still as terrifying as before.
Solare's heart held hope. He was ashamed that, as a general, he was entrusting the safety of his men to others. But in his current state, it was the only thing he could do. He could only wait for an opportunity to break the binding spell, or for it to wear out.
When Toran Fiore entered the battlefield once more, the stranger's killings was immediately put to a halt. The man started dodging the attacks that came his way. Several high-ranked Serans headed to the forefront to clash with him.
The stranger was surprisingly fast, but with the interference of Toran Fiore, he couldn't avoid every single Serans that came his way. The Remorans immediately got the gist of what the Principal was doing.
The main combatants were the Serans while the Remorans disrupted the enemy's movements. That was the current strategy employed and initiated by them, and it proved to be the best choice.
Seeing those Serans at the forefront, Solare Samo gritted his teeth. There were more than thirty of them coordinating perfectly with each other, but none were able to successfully land a blow on the stranger. Although they were doing a good job of suppressing the man to the point of him being unable to fight back, he could still manage.
As long as he could move, he would soon reach an area where he could escape from the effective range of some Remorans.
With less pressure, he would soon find the opportunity to counter-attack.
Fortunately, the Solare Samo's binds were about to wear off. He could feel the magic weaken.
He was about to break free.
….